


The Scorpion's Den

by KheWolf



Series: Scorpius [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Danger, Gen, el naddaha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 19:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5218418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KheWolf/pseuds/KheWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allison and Lydia attempt to harness Lydia's powers to learn more about the Prophet. Scott and Isaac take shelter in the Animal Clinic. Allison and Lydia investigate Scorpius' layer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Scorpion's Den

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter. I'm going to try to pick this back up and finish this fic. Forgive me for the current format, I didn't understand tags or chapters or series when I first began posting. I hope you enjoy! Comments are very much appreciated.

*****

            Lydia idly rubbed her right hand thumb and index finger together. It was a nervous habit she had developed in the past several months. At first, she had wanted to bite her nails, but she would _not_ do anything to let other people see her at a weak moment. Well, at least not just anyone.

            Allison’s voice drifted through the half-open door of her bedroom. Lydia was seated cross-legged on Allison’s bed, while her best friend said goodbye to her dad. Mr. Argent was leaving to gather information from the underworld, while Allison would stay behind and help Lydia try to harness her powers to track the mysterious Scorpius.

            “Be careful. If anything happens, if you find out anything, I need you to wait for me to come back.” Mr. Argent was saying to Allison. Lydia frowned, wondering if she should close the door to let them have privacy. If she moved though, they would know she had overheard them. Better to stay put. “I’ll be unreachable for about a day. If anything comes up, I’ll get word to you. Just… stay safe.”

            “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Allison’s voice was calm and steady, full of a quiet confidence she hadn’t had when Lydia had met her. How the times had changed them. “Just make sure that you’re ok too.”

            Lydia heard fabric rustling in the hall, and an image came to mind of Allison and her father hugging tightly.

            “You can do it. I trust you. I’ll be back soon.” Fading footsteps and a closing door signaled Mr. Argent’s exit. _And then there were two_.

            After a moment, Allison entered. “Sorry about that, my dad just wanted to make sure we wouldn’t do anything until he came back.” She laughed a little, brushing it off. Lydia saw right through that one though.

            “Okay. And if we find out something important?”

            Allison looked up at her. “Well obviously, we’d have to do something.” She grinned, and Lydia forced a cheery smile, even as her gut clenched. Of course they’d need to act if she discovered something. Regardless of how she felt about her powers. She regretted volunteering so readily back at the Animal Clinic.

            “Are you ready?” Lydia’s focus snapped back to the moment. She nodded, and suddenly she wanted to be sick.

            Allison took her hands. “Hey, you don’t have to do this. We’ll find another way.” Her voice was reassuring, and Lydia almost gave in. Almost.

            “No.” She tossed her hair as she shook her head. She fortified her mind, ruthlessly stripping it of excess emotion and fear. “If your dad can’t find anything out, this is the only way. Unless we want to wait around for Scorpius’ next move.” They both knew that wasn’t an option. Not if they wanted to keep their friends safe.

            “Alright. You can do it.” Allison instantly switched into encouragement. It was a talent of hers.

            Lydia nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She tried to empty her mind, hoping that would do the trick. Instead, she became very aware of her own breathing, of Allison’s hands holding hers, of the way the bed sank slightly as Allison adjusted herself, of the low hum of the air conditioner running somewhere in the apartment.

            “It’s not working.” She sighed after several long minutes.

            Allison rocked back and forth, frowning in thought. “Have you ever been able to connect with your powers when it’s not a life-threatening situation?”

            “Maybe. I don’t know.” Lydia sighed as she rubbed her temples. “Sometimes it feels that way, but no matter how I try, I can’t seem to be able to control it. It just happens. Purely spontaneous.”

            “Have you ever been able to induce it before?”

            Lydia shook her head. “I tried. Believe me, if I could control it, could stop it, I would have.” Her voice quavered a bit. She had found too many bodies, had seen too many bloody corpses.

            “Hey. I understand.” Allison took her hands again, her thumbs making little circles in Lydia’s palms. Brown eyes met green. “I know you can do this though. Scott and the others trust you too.” _And I can’t let them down_.

            Lydia took a deep breath, carefully pushing her emotions aside to let her mind think freely. “Ok. Let’s try again.”

            *****

             “Yes Mom, I’m sure. Isaac and Dr. Deaton are with me. It’s gonna be ok.”

            “Scott…” he heard his Mom sigh on the other end of the line, static rushing into the phone. “Just stay safe, alright? I’ll call you when my shift is done. I love you.”

            “I love you too Mom. Don’t worry about me.” Scott tried to reassure her.

            “Yeah, well, too late for that.” He smiled slightly at his Mom’s wry remark. “Ok, let me talk to Isaac.”

            Scott turned and tossed the phone to Isaac, who was leaning against a wall in the backroom of the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic. He seemed so surprised that even with his enhanced reflexes, he barely caught it. He looked confusedly at Scott, but raised the phone to his ear.

            “Hello?”

            Scott heard his Mom’s voice come dimly through the other end of the line. “Isaac, you take care of each other, alright? I don’t want you two to mess with anything that’s more than you can handle.” Isaac looked like he had no idea how to handle Melissa’s concern, and Scott just grinned at him. “If there’s any problem, you call the Sheriff, alright?” Melissa continued.

            “Yeah, yeah sure.” Isaac said, still a bit put off by Melissa’s concern. He was still adjusting to having an adult care for him.

            “Okay. Do you need any pillows or blankets brought over? Do you want me to bring some food over after my shift?” Scott turned away, smiling again as Isaac thanked her but declined. She had asked him the same questions before, but he had rebuffed her. He didn’t want her anywhere near the Animal Clinic right now. He needed to know that she was out of danger, and working at the hospital was one of the safest places for her right now.

            “Okay. Uh- goodnight.” Scott turned as Isaac ended the call. Isaac was smiling slightly, his golden eyes distant as he vaguely held the phone out towards Scott.

            Scott shoved him playfully. “Come on, are you really so surprised? She likes you.”

            “Maybe she’s trying to replace you.” Isaac joked right back, cocking an eyebrow and smirking at Scott. Scott gave him another friendly shove as Dr. Alan Deaton emerged from the back storage room.

            “Any trouble?” He asked, referring to the phone call.

            “Nope. We’re clear for the night.” Scott replied.

            “Although things may get a bit dull here.” Isaac remarked, dragging out the syllable in “may”.

            “Let’s hope so, for Scott’s sake, as well as yours.” Deaton said with a pointed look, all seriousness.

            Scott was a bit confused. “What do you mean, for Isaac’s sake too?”

            “I’ve been doing some more research. Chris and Lydia aren’t the only ones who can help.” Deaton shrugged. “I’ve been pulling together all the stories and rumors I’ve heard regarding the siren that attacked you.”

            Scott and Isaac exchanged looks. “What did you find?” Scott asked, remembering the sight of El Naddaha by the river, beautiful and luminous. Sometimes her voice haunted his sleep.

            “Not much, besides what we already know. I did find a curious warning though.” Scott and Isaac leaned in. “El Naddaha is rumored to be an especially vindictive siren. If one of her victims is saved by the other, she’ll remember.” Deaton’s gaze slid from Scott to Isaac, who frowned.

            “So what? She could come after me next?” Isaac gestured to himself, his voice incredulous.

            Deaton answered thoughtfully, stroking his chin with one hand. “I’m not sure. Scorpius seems to be able to control her to some extent, but she can’t break free of her nature. Remember that she only attacked when Scott and you were alone. She may also be bound to this rule, regardless of what Scorpius commands.”

            “Great.” Isaac grunted disgustedly, running his fingers through his curly hair. “Just great.”

            Scott patted Isaac’s shoulder comfortingly, and turned back to Deaton. “But we’re safe here, right? She can’t get through the barrier.” Deaton nodded. The building was made of mountain ash, and that protective barrier hadn’t failed them yet. “So we’re all good then!”

            “Unless Scorpius already knows about it. He’s the Prophet, remember?” Isaac groused, and Scott sort of understood why Stiles was so easily annoyed by Isaac. He knew Isaac was just stressed though.

            “Well, we can’t think about that.” He told them. “Stiles and Derek will be back soon, and the girls are working on it too. We’ll just… hang out!” Scott flashed a smile at Isaac, who rolled his eyes and paced away towards the front entrance.

            Scott sighed and looked at Deaton, and was a bit taken aback to see his brow still furrowed, one of the few signs of worry he ever showed. “We _are_ going to be ok… right?” He asked, fishing for a positive answer.

            Deaton shrugged, enigmatic as ever. “Isaac has a good point. We have no way of knowing just how far ahead Scorpius sees, and just what he knows. And I have a feeling… something doesn’t seem right.” Scott sucked in his breath. Deaton had a strange connection to the natural world that Scott didn’t understand, but he trusted and relied on the druid’s intuition. If he sensed something amiss…

            “Guys. Guys!” Isaac hurried back into the examining room. His golden eyes were wide, unfocused. “I hear... I’m hearing…”

            Deaton straightened, and Scott was already moving towards Isaac. “What is it? Isaac, what did you hear?” Isaac was covering his ears with both hands now, and his eyes flickered back and forth. He sank to the floor, and Scott looked at Deaton, at a loss for what to do.

            “I hear her.” Isaac whispered, looking up at Scott with fearful eyes. “She’s calling my name.”

            *****

            _Scorpius. Scorpius. Scorpius._ Lydia chanted the name in her mind, trying to get in his mind, like he had done to her. Her eyes were tightly shut in concentration. _Scorpius._ She could hear Allison pacing nervously nearby. She hadn’t liked Lydia’s idea, but they didn’t really have much of a choice. _Scorpius_. Nothing else they’d tried had worked. _Scorpius, Scorpius._

            Lydia felt meaning slipping away from the name the more she repeated it. She would not be beaten though, least of all by her own mind. She pictured the name in her mind as a line of solid letters, feeding it into something substantial. It was a name to be reckoned with. _Scorpio_. _Slayer of Orion. Monster_. Something was happening. She could feel that this was different from her earlier attempts to connect to her power. She focused, concentrating on everything she knew about the Prophet. _Scorpius_.

            “Why Lydia, what a pleasant surprise. You called?”

Lydia jumped as the Prophet’s voice purred in her ear. Allison darted to her side, and Lydia nodded at her with wide eyes while motioning for silence.

            “Have you come to a decision regarding my offer?”

            _I’ve been thinking about it._ Lydia felt the conversation as a tendril of thought, like a string that led outside her. It felt slippery, and Lydia frowned as she tried to mentally get a grip on it. _Now that’s not something you experience every day._

            “I’m not your everyday sort of creature. And neither are you. You require my aid.” Lydia felt herself panicking slightly as she realized the Prophet could hear her thoughts. Would he know what she was-

            “You little bitch.” The Prophet spat in her ear, and Lydia felt the tendril of his thought slipping away.

            _Shit._ Lydia ground her teeth. Mentally, she clung to the Prophet’s thoughts, and, by some strange instinct, seemed to follow it to its source. Sights and sounds assaulted her, almost too fast to process. Long empty rooms, a hallway, the sound of footsteps on wood, a scarred hand clutching a wooden pole… The images were coming too fast now, she couldn’t make sense of them. A flash of teeth, a monstrous Anubis head, sticky, steaming blood. Screams, long and shuddering, gunshots. Doors slamming, glass shattering. Lydia’s eyes snapped open.

            She was breathing heavily, and was dimly aware of Allison’s presence, demanding to know what had happened. She couldn’t speak though. Speak, and she might forget. She scrambled to her feet, rushing to Allison’s desk. Allison was right behind her, asking what was wrong, but Lydia couldn’t answer, not yet. She snatched a piece of paper and a pen and began scrawling letters and numbers.

            A moment later and it was done. She sighed, blowing air out in a relieved rush. She turned to Allison with a smile, and presented her with the paper. Allison raised her eyebrows, and read.

            “An address?” Allison sounded confused, but there was excitement as well.

            “An address.” Lydia confirmed, and she couldn’t keep the jubilation out of her voice. “I saw the inside, I’m sure of it. It’s large, and it’s the Prophet’s house.”

            Allison laughed and hugged her, and Lydia hugged back, laughing as well. Somehow, she had done it. Used her powers, and not been used. They knew where the monster’s lair was now.

            “Allison. There’s more.” Lydia cut through their celebration, her voice rushed and excited.

            “What?”

            “His followers are gone. They’re not there. And neither is he.”

            Allison’s eyes were wide as she realized the possibilities, but they quickly narrowed into suspicion. “You’re sure? What if it’s a trap?”

            Lydia did not want to doubt herself. Not now, not when she had finally gained some control. “I’m positive. This is our chance to find out more.” She was more sure than she had ever been before in regards to her powers. The sense she got of Scorpius’ mansion was empty, and she had never felt something so clearly.

            “Then we need to get help. I’ll…” Allison stopped, realizing as she began that there was no help to be had. Mr. Argent was gone, Stiles and Derek were busy, and Isaac was guarding Scott.

            “Allison, if there’s anyone who can protect us, it’s you.” Allison still frowned, chewing her lip indecisively. Lydia knew how loath she was to ignore her dad’s warning.  “This could be our only chance to learn more about him. We could be saving our friends.” Lydia offered, the words coming to her unbidden. _We could be saving all of them_.

            Allison nodded, and Lydia knew she was thinking about Scott. Her words had had the desired effect.

            “Alright then. We’ll leave a note for my dad. I’m driving.”

            Lydia grinned tightly. _I did it._

            *****

            Scott glanced towards the front door again, and the sight made him shudder. El Naddaha stood with arms outstretched, fingers splayed against the glass. Her white dress hung loosely about her, revealing some of her unearthly beauty. Her mouth was open, and she sang, sang sweetly and powerfully, her voice reverberating throughout the building, calling to Isaac. For all her terrifying beauty though, she was defeated by the mountain ash barrier that protected the Animal Clinic from the supernatural.

            Scott hurried back to the examining room, wincing at a blast of sound. They were playing rock music at full volume on Deaton’s portable radio, trying to drown out the siren. Isaac had his hands by his ears, and he yelled out occasionally. His eyes flickered as his body hovered somewhere in the midst of the transformation from human to werewolf. Deaton knelt beside him, trying to keep him from wolfing out.

            “She’s still there. But I don’t think she can get in.” Scott knelt next to Isaac and grabbed hold of a shoulder to restrain him.

            “If this keeps up, she may not need to.” Deaton grimaced as Isaac shouted wordlessly, his legs kicking. He was fighting the siren’s call, but Scott could tell he was losing. Fighting it was bringing out the werewolf in him, and once that happened, he doubted Isaac would have a shred of control.

            “Why is she even here? I thought she only attacked people in pairs!”

            Deaton looked at him, worry writ large on his face. “Apparently someone changed the rules. The Prophet must be getting frustrated.”

            “Ok, so what do we do?” Scott asked worried. Deaton looked up at him, without a plan for the first time. Scott was an alpha, he should be able to do something right? But he didn’t know the first thing about being an alpha. That was Derek, and Derek had lost that. _Stiles would know what to do_.

            Scott poked his head around the corner to look at El Naddaha once more. Her eyes met his, and he yanked his head back around the corner. He was scared of her, he freely admitted it, and he was devoutly grateful there were walls of mountain ash between him and her. None of which would matter if she lured Isaac out. _Stiles would be doing something._

            “Isaac! Isaac, just focus! Focus on your anchor!” Scott shouted above the music and the El Naddaha’s singing, but it didn’t seem to help. Isaac probably couldn’t even hear him. Scott yelled again, louder. Then he caught another sound- glass shattering. He ran back to the front entrance, but the door was still unbroken. _What?_

            “Scott!” Deaton’s shout brought him running back into the examining room. Deaton was struggling with a man, who fought to aim a pistol as Deaton wrestled with the man’s arms. An examining table stood between Scott and the struggling pair. Scott unsheathed his claws and growled once in warning. Deaton heard, and took in Scott’s position in a glance. Then Scott was moving.

            Deaton shouted and released the man, shoving himself away. At the same time, Scott seized hold of the examining table with both hands. Flexing his arms, he lifted and sent the table crashing into the intruder. The man cried out in pain as the table landed on his upper half. The gun went skittering away on the floor.

            Scott froze for a second, trying to sense other enemies. Nothing. _Thank God_. Deaton leaned shakily against a wall, Isaac still lay huddled in the corner, El Naddaha still sang sweetly. The intruder groaned loudly, and his legs twitched as he tried to lever the table off himself. Scott stalked over to him, scooping up the gun along the way.

            “Who are you?” Scott demanded, crouching next to the man. The intruder had a thick brown beard, fearful blue eyes, and an ugly puckered scar that ran across his nose. He stank of fear and pain to Scott’s sensitive nose.

            The man licked his lips, but flinched away when he met Scott’s glowing red eyes. Scott held up the gun for him to see. The man’s eyes widened, but Scott wasn’t planning on shooting him. Instead, he took the pistol in both hands and bent the barrel to one side before tossing it to the side. The man gulped loudly. Scott grabbed the man’s shirt front and hoisted him closer, leaving the man’s legs pinned under the flipped table.

            Growling with bared fangs in the man’s face got answers soon enough. “Alright!” he screamed. “Alright! Don’t eat me, I’ll talk!”

“Who are you?” Scott growled low in the back of his throat, and shook the man.

            “I’m…Zach. B-bounty hunter. I was just here f-for the money.” Zach licked his lips nervously, eyes looking anywhere but at Scott.

            Then Deaton was there, his voice steady, a calming hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Who hired you?”

            “A man that… he called himself t-the Prophet.” Scott listened to the man’s already racing heartbeat, but he didn’t pick up on any irregularities. So far at least, he was being truthful. Scott made eye contact with Deaton and nodded. Deaton turned back to Zach.

            “Zach, why were you here?”

            “For the alpha.” Zach swallowed.

            “Do you know what the Prophet wanted with the alpha?”

            Zach shook his head. Again, he was telling the truth. _Damn it_.

            “What are-” Deaton began to ask, but a shrill alarm cut him off. Scott flinched away, releasing Zach to cover his ears. It was the fire alarm going off. Scott yelled as the alarm sounded again, sending sharp knives of pain into his ears. Then water sprayed from the ceiling as the Animal Clinic’s fire protection systems activated, soaking the room and its occupants. Deaton was shouting something, but Scott couldn’t think- the alarm kept jarring him and making him flinch.

            Then, mercifully, the alarm shut off, and the water stopped spraying. Scott lifted his head and looked around, totally disoriented. Deaton emerged from the back room, fire extinguisher in hand. Zach was gone. Isaac lay nearby, but El Naddaha’s singing had stopped. Scott shook his head gingerly, trying to clear the ringing from his ears. Then he heard the front door slam open. He pushed himself shakily to his feet, and Deaton raised the fire extinguisher defensively.

            “What happened?” Scott slumped in relief as Derek Hale came into view, Stiles hard on his heels. Never had he been so grateful to see them.

            Deaton spoke up. “A bounty hunter. He used the siren to try and lure Isaac out, and set a fire in the back. Then he attacked us.”

            Derek’s claws came out and he growled. “I’ll go after the hunter.” He pushed roughly past Stiles, who windmilled his arms wildly before grabbing the doorframe. Scott raised his eyebrows in surprise at Derek’s hostility. _I’ll figure it out later._

            “Wait!” Deaton called, but Derek was gone.

            “What’s wrong?” Scott asked. Derek should be fine on his own against an unarmed bounty hunter.

            “Even though I shut it down, the alarm still went off.” Deaton shook his head.

            “Which means… emergency services are on their way.” Stiles spoke, and Scott felt his stomach clench as he looked down at Isaac, still struggling to get back to his human form.

            “Exactly.” Deaton murmured. “Stiles, you need to take Isaac and get out of here.”

            “Wait, what about you and Scott?”

            “Scott works here. We can say that we were both working late, and that there were some arsonists.” Deaton spoke crisply as he helped Scott pull Isaac to his feet. For once, Stiles accepted Deaton’s orders without more sarcasm, for which Scott was grateful.

            “Come on, Isaac.” Stiles grunted as he let Isaac lean on him. “Scott, let me know when you guys are in the clear.”

            Scott nodded. He looked around the room once more… _oh shit_. “Stiles, wait!”

            Stiles turned in surprise, then rolled his eyes heavenward. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” He muttered as Scott pressed the twisted gun into his best friend’s hands.

            “We can’t leave that here! Just get rid of it or something!”

            “Yeah yeah, don’t worry.” Stiles griped as he bundled Isaac towards the front door. “But you owe me a full explanation once this is all figured out.”

            Scott watched from the front door as Stiles crammed Isaac into his jeep and peeled away from the Animal Clinic, mere minutes before a fire truck pulled in, sirens wailing. Behind him, Deaton put a hand on his shoulder. _Here we go._

            *****

            Lydia frowned through the car window as she tried to make contact with her powers once more. Allison shuffled in the driver’s seat next to her, adjusted her concealed weaponry. Across the street from them stood the Prophet’s lair.

            It was a large house, but not something that would be considered a mansion by passerby. Black windows peered out of dark gray walls, their glass reflecting pallid moonlight. In the early night, the house was shrouded in shadow. Lydia swallowed. The house _seemed_ empty, but it also didn’t seem that large, which she knew to be a lie. In her vision earlier, she had seen that there were several basements, and she had no idea just how deep the lair ran. “Fallaces sunt rerum species et hominum spes fallunt.” She muttered to herself.

            “What was that?” Allison whispered, even though they were still sitting in her car.

            “Just a quote, from Seneca.” Lydia murmured, keeping her face averted from Allison. _The appearances of things are deceptive and the hope of men is deceived._ She needed some better material.

            Lydia sensed Allison shrugging. She would probably mark it up to Lydia prepping herself before they entered the Prophet’s home. Everyone had their own ways to prepare for such things. Lydia knew that Allison liked to go over her weapons, and rub an arrowhead. Stiles would have armored himself with his knowledge. _What do I do?_ She wasn’t as used to these situations. _My friends need me. I have to do this._

            Allison led the way onto the property, Lydia trailing behind her. Allison had her bow and quiver of steel-tipped arrows over her shoulder, a crossbow in one hand, her ring-daggers hidden up her sleeves, and heaven knew what else. Lydia belatedly realized that she had nothing to defend herself. She found herself wishing that she had Stiles’ baseball bat.

            There was nothing for it but to trust that she had been right, and that the house was abandoned for the moment. Lydia wore a dark jacket and practical cloth shoes that muffled her footsteps as she tip-toed after Allison. A row of evergreen trees fringed the property, giving them some cover. They moved from shadow to shadow, pausing to watch the house for signs of movement. All was still and dark.

            After a careful approach, they plastered themselves under one of the windows, listening for movement inside. Allison looked at Lydia, silently checking one last time if they were sure about this. Lydia shut her eyes tightly and nodded. A second later, she cringed as the window above them shattered.

            She opened her eyes to see Allison twirling one of the thumb daggers back up her sleep. They waited breathlessly, listening for alarms, shouts from inside, concerned night-joggers, anything. After several long, tense moments, Lydia eased a breathe and Allison grinned at her. _Step one: breaking and entering, halfway accomplished_.

            The next bit would be harder. Allison entered the house first, her crossbow cocked and ready, slowly tracking the room. Lydia clambered in after her, placing her feet delicately amidst broken glass pieces. They were in what might have been a dining room, with polished dark-wood flooring and patterned maroon wallpaper. The room was totally devoid of furniture though. Three doorways opened into hallways and other rooms. Lydia drifted closer to Allison. She wasn’t frightened of the silence, just cautious, she told herself.

            Allison led the way, moving on silent feet. The house was chilly, despite the warm California air outside. They checked the first floor thoroughly, finding empty rooms with curtainless windows that felt like sinister eyes, marking them as intruders. They didn’t bother checking the upstairs. They had a limited time frame, and the underground layers of the house needed exploring. They were there to find out more about Scorpius: his allies, his defenses, his purpose, anything that might help them learn more or defeat him.

            They found the stairway to the basement behind a closed door in the main hall. Allison once again took point, her crossbow cocked and ready, as they descended. Lights came on automatically, causing them to flinch, but nothing attacked them or called out in alarm. The basement was carpeted and had the same deep maroon wallpaper as the upstairs, and was just as disconcertingly devoid of furniture and décor. It served to make the house seem like a cavernous tomb.

            Allison quickly checked the basement and its rooms. “Nothing. No stairs either. Lydia?”

            Lydia closed her eyes, remembering what she had gleaned from the Prophet. Eyes closed, she paced forwards, lips pursed in concentration. Allison shuffled behind her, shielding and covering her as Lydia led them into a corner room. Lydia’s eyes snapped open as her foot hit a slight rise in the carpet. _There_.

            “Allison, I need a knife.”  Allison complied, producing a 6 inch serrated blade from somewhere on her person. Lydia went to work.

            Five minutes later and there was a ragged hole in the carpeting, revealing the large steel trapdoor underneath. Allison heaved it open, and a rush of cold air met them, smelling of iron and rot. Lydia wrinkled her nose at Allison, who puckered her face right back. Then the lights went out.

            Lydia scrambled to her feet, and stepped away from where she remembered the hole in the floor being. The basement was totally dark. She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. Movement sounded from somewhere in the basement: an animalistic snuffling sound, and footsteps. Lydia heard a steely slither from where Allison had been, and sensed rather than saw Allison drawing her weapons. Her heart thundered in her ears.

            Lydia took a deep breath, closing her eyes and clutching at the knife Allison had given her earlier. When she opened her eyes, she found two golden eyes glowing at her from the dark. Lydia stepped carefully towards them, her heart in her throat. The eyes regarded her keenly, then advanced. Without a word of warning, Lydia slashed with the knife, the blade meeting resistance. There was an ear-shattering howl, and then the air was full of noise.

            She slashed again with the knife, but the monster in the shadows had lurched back, screeching in pain. Behind her, Lydia heard Allison’s crossbow _twang_ , and Allison yelling. Then there were hands on her, horrid unseen hands, seizing her hair and bending her wrist back sharply until she dropped the knife with a cry of pain. The hand on her hair yanked her head back, and her arms were seized. Lydia struggled wildly as she was dragged backwards, and managed to land a kick on one of her attackers, but it had no effect. She felt herself hoisted suddenly. Allison called her name, and then Lydia was pitched into thin air, screaming as she fell.


End file.
